Massacre
by StCC
Summary: Sasuke took his fangirls for granted. Naruto pointed that out, and the two academy students became fast friends. Naruto is certain he'd kill for the benefits of a family. Sasuke thinks Naruto is lucky not to have an annoying elder brother.
1. Taken for Granted

**Massacre**

"So what's the story today?" the Sandaime asked as a pair of Chuunin walked in.

"The vessel hasn't come to the academy since the mob," one replied, and all three in the room sighed.

"It's awful seeing this happen," the second one replied. "The fact that a group of villagers just beat him until he was bruised all over... It's lucky that we found them doing this in the training field, or he'd have died..."

"Mizuki, is there something on your mind?" the Third asked the first Chuunin who had spoken.

"Oh... Just thinking about how long I wish that group could go to prison for..." Mizuki replied with a slight smirk that vanished a second later.

Iruka nodded solemnly. "I agree with Mizuki," he murmured.

The Sandaime nodded with Iruka, and said, "I wish you could do something to help the boy recover faster... Iruka, perhaps you could go to his house and check up on him?"

"Yeah... I'll see what we can do for Naruto," the brown-haired Chuunin replied.

"Iruka-sensei," Naruto insisted, "I don't wanna go back to class! What if the villagers beat me up again? Why did they attack me, anyway? Is there something I'm doing wrong? I wouldn't know, I don't have anyone to ask!"

"You aren't doing anything wrong. It's just that some people enjoy hurting the weak," Iruka lied. "The solution is easy. Make yourself stronger. Come back to class."

He hurt inside for such a lie, and it hurt more to see the young blonde believe him.

"You're right, Iruka-sensei! I gotta go to the academy to be a strong ninja, 'tebbeyo!"

Please, please don't let the villagers attack him after the promise, Iruka hoped.

"S-sakura?" Naruto called at the girl staring intently at something across the playground.

"Go away, pest!" Sakura hissed. "I'm trying to get Sasuke-kun's attention!"

"Sakura..." Naruto said without realizing Sasuke could hear. "We all know you only love him because he's an Uchiha... You should try getting to know a person before you make such a decision."

"I do love Sasuke for who he is!" Sakura replied curtly. "He's a powerful ninja!"

"I said who, not what."

"You don't understand, baka!"

"I have to agree with Naruto..." Sasuke interupted. "For all you know, I'm willing to beat you to a pulp... Which, by the way, I am."

Sakura gasped and dashed away, blushing and thinking only, 'HE SPOKE TO ME!'

Naruto looked away, embarassed. "Sorry, did I insult you?"

"Nah, thanks, actually," Sasuke replied with a laugh. "What you said is true."

"Yeah, but your fangirl left..."

"Who cares? I have plenty of those, and it's really annoying."

"...I'd like people to give me that much attention... You take people that care about you for granted, ya'know."

"Maybe so. Anyway, you're Uzumaki Naruto, right? No offence, but you're sort of... Well... A slightly average ninja?"

"None taken, and feel free to say, 'poor.' I just don't have anyone to train with."

"Don't your parents train you at home?"

"Erm... Well, thing is, I don't have any parents or siblings... It's just me."

"You live alone?" Sasuke asked, slightly shocked. "Must be nice, peace and quiet without worrying that you aren't living up to your family's expectations."

"It isn't all it's cracked up to be... I don't even know who my parents are. Also... I can't live up to my own expectations."

"You could always train with me," Sasuke offered.

"R-really?" Naruto gasped. "Nobody has ever offered to train with me before!"

"Well, pleased to be the first!" Sasuke said, smiling. "Naruto-kohai."

"Kohai? Why kohai?" Naruto asked in an agiatated tone.

"I'll be your sempai, that's why!" Sasuke replied with a smirk.

"You're a teme, not a sempai!"

"Dobe."

"TEME!"

"Let's go train already, Naruto-kohai."

"Fine, Sasuke-sempai," Naruto replied in a slightly mocking tone, but he nonetheless accepted Sasuke a 'sempai.'

"Darn! Missed the targets!" Sasuke sighed.

"It's closer than what I hit...' Naruto laughed nervously and revealed his bleeding arm.

"How on Earth did you stab yourself?" Sasuke asked in an, 'Oh my God, what the heck?' tone.

"Does it really matter 'how' as much as it does, 'how to fix it?' Sasuke-sempai?" Naruto asked, laughing normally now and wiping the blood away.

Sasuke gasped when he saw the wound gone.

"What...That was real blood, I could tell, and yet the wound is...Gone?" he asked in awe.

"Yes, gone," Naruto replied, smiling slightly. "For some reason I'm a fast healer."

Unable to believe it, Sasuke lunged forward and pierced the unexpecting Naruto's arm with a small katana.

Naruto wiped the blood away again the reveal flawless skin.

"Sorry about that..." Sasuke said solemnly. "But... It's just so... Abnormal!"

Naruto nodded. "I understand. It isn't every day you see the worst ninja ever have wounds that heal in seconds."

Both of them laughed.

"I have to go home now, though..." Sasuke sighed, checking the time. "You want to come over and stay for dinner?"

"Y-your parents wouldn't mind?"

Sasuke shook his head. "No, why would they?"

Naruto just replied, "Oh, nothing... Just that some people act strangely around me. You'd think they thought me to be a criminal!"

"If only you knew," Iruka whispered to himself behind a tree as he watched the two. "If only you knew..."

"Come on, you keep glancing around like someone is going to attack you at any moment!" Sasuke insisted as they entered the Uchiha complex. Naruto was constantly looking back and forth and shivering with fear. "It isn't as if someone is going to turn on you!"

"Nn..." was Naruto's reply as he held Sasuke's hand tightly.

Sasuke smirked. "We're almost to my house, kohai, so stop worrying."

"Nn..." Naruto replied once more.

Sasuke couldn't see what made Naruto so terrified of everything. He acted like a frightened puppy that had been cruelly abused by the owner and now had to be rehabilitated.

If only the raven-haired academy student realized he had hit the nail on the head.

"Hurry it up, dobe, if I'm home late Itachi is going to flick me on the forehead and call me a gakki again!" Sasuke grumbled, but it was obvious he was only teasing the blonde.

Well, obvious to everyone except the blonde himself. Widened eyes stared at Sasuke in horror. "I'm so sorry, gomenasigh! I didn't realize I was being so slow, I'll be faster, gomenasigh!"

"I was only joking around!" Sasuke insisted. "It's alright if we're a little late!"

Naruto relaxed slightly. Sasuke felt his blood begin to circulate through his wrist and to his hand again as the grip on his arm was relaxed.

They entered the house. "Home at last, gakki?" Itachi asked, and flicked Sasuke on the forehead as usual.

"Hey!" Sasuke growled angrily.

Naruto remained silent.

"So you finally brought a friend over?" Itachi asked with a sigh, not really caring who or what he knew Naruto to be; truthfully, he wouldn't have cared if Sasuke had made friends with the Kyuubi himself, so long as it didn't do anything to ruin _his _day.

"Yeah. Anyway, where's mom and dad?"

"They're on a mission, why?"

"Just curious... Anyway, where's dinner?"

"Already on the table, mother prepared it before she left. And don't start with the 'I won't eat simple ramen' thing, Sasuke, because I'm busy handling these reports."

"Enjoying your new position as ANBU captain, I see," Sasuke laughed.

"Shut up," Itachi said simply before leaving the room.

"Let's go get dinner, Naruto..." Sasuke forced himself to say through laughter. He turned to see that the boy had quietly been observing the situation.

Was this what having a family was like? He was certain he'd kill to have such a luxury.

They both sat down. "So," Sasuke asked, "if I hadn't asked you over, what would you have normally eaten?"

"I don't normally eat dinner," Naruto replied casually. "I go to Ichiraku's, eat as much ramen as I can, and then nothing else for the rest of the day."

Sasuke couldn't help but realize that he had never seen Naruto bring a bento of any sort to school for lunch...

"You've never had anything but ramen?" Sasuke repeated, staring at him.

"Yeah, why?"

Sasuke was too busy asking questions to noticed Itachi eavesdropping on the conversation.

"Surely it's awful... Don't you want to eat anything else?"

"Can't want something if you don't even have a description of it."

"What do you drink?"

"The water from the ramen, obviously."

"Why don't you go to the store?"

"One, I can't cook. Two, I can't go into the stores or they yell at me and throw things at me."

Sasuke couldn't see why Naruto was so calm discussing how horrible his life had been. He knew at that time he had underestimated his classmate. Not even he would have the grit to have nothing but breakfast every day, always having just ramen, and then doing nothing but laugh at his own failures in class. Nor would he be able to act as if pity was the last thing he wanted in such a situation. He couldn't hide his real feelings under a mask.

But Naruto could. He was probably hurting a lot inside.

Sasuke was determined to reveal his new friend's true personality.

**A/N Chapter one, COMPLETE! WOOT! WOOT! Okay, leave all questions, suggestions, flames, etc. in your review.**

**I'm watching you.**

**So R&R or else! **


	2. You Seriously READ?

"So, you wanna sleep over?" Sasuke asked, regaining his composure.

"Sleep over what?"

"You know, stay here for the night."

"I'd be troublesome, though!" Naruto replied, worried.

"No you wouldn't! Come on, surely you want to! We can even have a proper breakfast in the morning!"

"I-I guess so..."

"Great, you'll be with me in my room!" Sasuke decided, dragging his kohai up the stairs.

"Sasuke, why are there books in your room?" Naruto asked.

"For reading, obviously!"

"Reading?" Naruto replied, a look of disgust coming over his face.

"Yeah, we can read one together, if you want."

"Eh? Umm... Maybe you should read it alone..."

"Why?"

"Well... I sort of... Get paper cuts really easy, and..."

"You heal a fast as a flash of lightning strikes the ground."

"Yeah, but it still stings!"

"You didn't mind getting hit with a kunai!"

Then, understanding rammed into the youngest Uchiha.

"Naruto... Can you read?"

"Of course I can read!"

"Okay, spell 'luck' for me, then."

"Ah-erm, okay... Luck... L-U-S?"

Of course! Realization was dawning on Sasuke like a spreading fire by now. He couldn't read. He hadn't had anybody to teach him!

"L-U-C-K," Sasuke corrected. "Luck. You're in luck right now, kohai. It seems there's more than fighting I have to teach you."

Naruto turned red, embarrassed about the fact that Sasuke seemed better than him in every way imaginable.

Sasuke had to admit, Naruto had a good memory when it came to literature. Sasuke and him were reading a book together in a single hour.

"The cat stared up at the sky, red as fury in the afternoon," Sasuke read. "The clouds faded into dark as up above calmed into a soothing purple."

Naruto continued, uncertainly; "The cat felt so insig-insig-insignificant compared to it, despite the muskells-"

"Muscles," Sasuke corrected his pronounciation.

"Mmkay... Despite the muscles rippling freely under his pelt of soft fur."

"The black hairs blended with the night," Sasuke continued, "and he stood in the shadows as to defy the moon's wish to reveal him."

"Try as he might," Naruto took over, "there was one able to sniff him out. 'Raminus,' she called softly, in a voice to rival the summer winds, 'come out, I can sense your presence.' The black cat known as Raminus nodded, gaz-gaz-"

"Gazing."

"Gazing at the white fel-fellin?"

"Feline."

"Feline with bright golden eyes."

"That's far enough for tonight, I'm exhausted!" Sasuke yawned.

"Me too," Naruto agreed.

Sasuke awoke only when he heard Naruto getting out of bed. "Naruto?" he gasped quietly as he saw his friend get up, seemingly sleepwalking towards the staircase. "Naruto, watch out!"

He didn't fall.

Sasuke gaped as Naruto bent down and sniffed the ground, eyes wide and alert. He seemed conscious of what he was doing, yet...

Those wide and alert eyes were red and catlike.

The blonde snatched air off the ground and immediately made as if gulping it down before stepping past Sasuke back to the sleeping back he had been using and falling back asleep. Sasuke proceeded to wake him up, only to see the eyes returned to their normal blue.

"Eh? What happened, Sasuke?" Naruto asked, before noticing that his stomach felt hungry and unsatisfied. "Umm… Did a wake you up? Sorry, I can't help but do that at night, for some reason when I'm half-asleep the mice in my apartment look so tasty, and then I wake up realizing there are rodent guts in my stomach and I- Oh, please don't tell anyone that I do that at night! I'll do anything!"

Sasuke nodded, over the shock by now, and merely remarked, "It might have to do with a clan trait, like the Inuzuka's relationship with dogs. It isn't like you can help it."

Naruto breathed a sigh of relief. "That's reassuring... Thank you, Sasuke!"

"Any time," Sasuke laughed, silencing himself to keep from waking Itachi. "Just warn me next time if you know you have some strange trait like that, 'kay?"

"You got it!"

"Gakkis," Itachi hissed from the doorway, "It's midnight! Let me get some sleep, would you?"

At that, Sasuke laughed madly.

Naruto smiled slightly, finally realizing just how fun it was to be, in Itachi's opinion, a gakki.

"I hate siblings... And their friends…" Itachi sighed, walking back to bed.

* * *

"Naruto, come on! We're going to buy you some halfway decent clothing, like it or not!"

"And I don't like it!" Naruto insisted as Sasuke dragged him along. "They'll yell at me again!"

"Don't you want to look halfway presentable for the academy exam tommorow?"

"Yeah, but-"

"We're going!"

"I don't have any money!"

"I'll pay for it! I need to get something for myself, too, as a matter of fact..."

"But Saaaaaaaaasukeeeeeeeeeee!"

They entered the store, nobody daring to yell at Naruto when the Uchiha was on his side.

That didn't stop the deadly glares, however.

"What's your favorite color, Naruto?"

"Orange."

"Yeah? Well now it's red. What self-respecting ninja wears orange?"

"I do!"

"Well, now you're wearing something more shinobi-like," Sasuke replied. "So pick something out. No orange!"

"But Sasuke-"

"No orange!"

"Teme..." Naruto muttered crossly as he combed through a bunch of red outfits. It wasn't orange, but it was close. Sasuke purchased the clothes for both of them using his allowance while Naruto shyly avoided the shopkeeper's 'Get out of here, pronto,' stare.

"Come on, let's go back to my house to change. You should really start wearing red, black, and blue... Orange just isn't suited for a ninja."

"Neither is pink, and Sakura wears it!"

"Sakura's a girl!"

"So what?"

"The shade of pink she wears is closer to red than pink, dobe!"

Naruto couldn't argue, Sakura's clothes looked more red than pink.

After getting back to Sasuke's house, they put the outfits away to save them for the next day, and trained. "Hold your kunai properly, kohai!"

"I am! YOU'RE the one who has it wrong, sempai!"

"Dobe!"

"Teme!"

* * *

It was the next day. (Naruto had slept over at Sasuke's again.) The graduation exams.

Both walked together, Sasuke wearing a shirt with a slightly large neckband in dark blue (the same clothes he wears in the anime). Naruto was wearing a red sweater of his black T-shirt with long sleeve and a blue line underneathe the zipper. His pants were a solid red.

"I don't like red as much as orange, 'tebbeyo!"

"Ninja don't wear orange!"

"Hmph!"

After sitting down next to each other (Naruto nervously edged away from the angry/jealous girls), the exam started. Sasuke, of course, came back into the room wearing a Konoha forehead protector. Naruto smiled, reassured, and went inside.

A few seconds after a bunshin attempt...

"YOU FAIL!"

"Surely we could pass him, Iruka, he DID manage to replicate," Mizuki insisted. Iruka came back with an argument about how Naruto's clone was useless, and Naruto sadly left the room, disheartened.

"So? How was it?" Sasuke asked. "It's gonna be awesome to be a Genin, huh?"

"Sasuke..." Naruto growled. "Shut up."

Sasuke froze.

He hadn't passed?

"But... How come you-"

"I can't do a bunshin. I just can't, it's the one thing I could never get right!" Naruto replied, tears leaking from his eyes as he ran away from Sasuke, ashamed of himself.

"Naruto..."

**A/N What's gonna happen now that Sasuke learned of Naruto's failure? And what about when Sasuke and Naruto go after that scroll only to find out the dark secret haunting the poor blonde? **

**That's right, everybody. **

**What will Sasuke's reaction be when he learns of Kyuubi? **


	3. Kyuubi no Yoku

Naruto told Sasuke of the scroll Mizuki had mentioned.

And Sasuke decided to come with him.

"Cool! I've never been to the old man's house!"

"Should we really be stealing Hokage-sama's stuff?"

"Teme, stop being such a chicken! You can leave if you want, but I'M gonna graduate like Mizuki-sensei said!"

"Well, I guess it's alright if Mizuki-sensei said we could…"

* * *

"Lessee… Tajuu, kage bunshin no jutsu… GAH! WHY A BUNSHIN?"

"I bet I learn it faster than you, kohai."

* * *

Sasuke panted. "How come you've already been able to get fifty clones at once and maintain them for an entire minute while I can't get one?"

"I dunno… Maybe it has to do with the clones being made out of shadows instead of just chakra. I was never one for chakra control…"

"Well, let's at least move on to the next technique, I'm not getting anything from this."

"Haha! The Uchiha is giving up!"

"Shut up, dobe!"

"What are you two doing out here?" Iruka asked from behind the two.

Sasuke and Naruto paled.

"Well? I'm waiting!" Iruka snapped. "The entire village has been looking for you two and the scroll!"

"And I must admit," Itachi's voice sounded, "that I'm quite disappointed in my little brother's sinking to this level."

"But Mizuki-sensei said that I would graduate with Sasuke if I learned a technique from this scroll! He told me the location and everything! I can do kage bunshins now, wanna see?" Naruto asked.

"Mizuki?" Iruka repeated. Even Itachi let a confused look come over his face.

And that was when the shuriken flew towards them.

"Get down!" Itachi barked, knocking over Sasuke while Iruka knocked over Naruto.

_Kuso, _Mizuki thought. _I didn't realize the ANBU captain was there, too! _

"Mizuki!" Iruka gasped, turning around.

"You three better leave. I can take him without a problem," Itachi said calmly.

"I can't believe you two, protecting the demon boy like that!" Mizuki spat.

"Demon boy?" Sasuke repeated. "What does he mean by that?"

"But of course the brats wouldn't know!" Mizuki continued.

"Mizuki!" Iruka barked. "Don't tell him! It's forbidden!"

Naruto just stared at the silver-haired Chuunin with horror. "What's forbidden?"

"Telling you, Naruto, that you're possessed by the spirit of the demon who attacked our village twelve years ago! You are the Kyuubi no yoku!"

Silence.

"Don't believe him, Naruto!" Iruka insisted. "He's lying!"

Itachi spoke up. "Even a fool can see that was no lie… Just… Stretching the truth. I'll take care of him."

Sasuke was already a few paces away from Naruto. "You-you're what?"

Naruto was just frozen with fear, horror, and angst. He couldn't begin to truly comprehend what Mizuki had said. As soon as Itachi leapt at Mizuki, the bunshin vanished, and a shuriken was aimed at Naruto's back by the true one.

Itachi cursed under his breathe for not having realized he was leaping at a fake.

"Naruto!" Sasuke gasped, leaping in front of the shuriken deflecting it with a kunai in each hand.

"Sasuke… You saved me…" Naruto murmured, turning around.

"You aren't a monster, no matter what he says!" Sasuke replied. "Although I do wonder what Itachi-nee-san meant by 'stretching the truth.' "

"I'll explain after," Itachi replied, before attacking the real Mizuki and knocking the weaker ninja unconscious.

Iruka sighed. "I'm no good at this kind of thing, so let Itachi-sama explain…"

Itachi walked back, Mizuki over his shoulder. "It's like this. The Kyuubi no yoku was never truly defeated by Yondaime-sama. He was… Sealed."

"Sealed? In what?" Sasuke inquired.

"A newborn child," Itachi replied with a sigh. "Naruto isn't possessed, he's just a container. If it makes you feel any better think of it as a cell keeping the evil from escaping into Konoha, much like a cell will be what Mizuki resides in from now on."

"So… That's why everyone hates me?" Naruto asked, shaking.

"Not everyone, just a bunch of fools who feel they have to blame the loss of their family members on something. Most of them are actually good-hearted, but fall to the peer pressure."

Naruto looked at Sasuke.

Sasuke shook his head. "Who would fall for pressure when it's something that could ruin an innocent person's life?" He turned to Naruto. "You're still my friend, no matter what anyone says, 'kay?"

"So, Naruto," Iruka mused, "How about showing us that bunshin, rather than waiting for the next exam? It'll be troublesome for all of us if you don't graduate right here and now."

"YES! Alright, Tajuu! Kage bunshin no jutsu!"

"Well?"

"Hand-"

"-over-"

"-the-"

"-forehead protector!"

* * *

"Alright, finally back from that mission!" a raven-haired woman sighed. "That was definitely difficult!"

"It wouldn't have been so difficult if you had been paying attention," a male of the same hair color replied.

"Feh…"

"Hey, who's that Sasuke's training with?"

"The Kyuubi boy, I believe."

"I sure hope Sasule hasn't been influenced by the villagers… Poor guy, not even knowing why everyone hates him… Hey, Sasuke!"

Sasuke turned his head and smiled. "Naruto, come on! Don't you wanna meet father and mother?"

"Eh… Erm…"

"Come on, let's go!"

"Well, Sasuke, I see you're training!" his mother laughed. "Achieved Sharingan yet?"

"No… But this is my friend, Naruto!" Sasuke replied, quickly changing the subject to how he and Naruto had met and become friends, looking away slightly as he explained learning Naruto's secret (in a soft voice, considering they were in public).

"Come on, we can talk more at home," Sasuke's father insisted.

"Umm… Bye, then…" Naruto murmured nervously.

"Can Naruto stay over?" Sasuke asked immediately.

"Of course he can!"

Sasuke grinned while Naruto smiled slightly, feeling extremely inferior. These were _Uchihas. _The noblest clan in all of Konoha. He had been fine around Sasuke-after all, they were roughly the same age-but around his parents? He was even nervous around Itachi at first! But now this?

* * *

The standout blonde among the Uchiha family sat down at the table close to Sasuke. "So, you know about the Kyuubi, then?" Sasuke's mother asked calmly.

"Mmhmm," Naruto replied quietly.

"And I taught him how to read, too!" Sasuke added.

Naruto turned bright red and clenched his teeth. Sasuke laughed nervously when he saw how much he had embarrassed the Jicnhuuriki.

"Sasuke, sometimes I feel you don't know when to keep your mouth shut," Itachi mused.

"Well at least I'm not stoic as a statue!" Sasuke hissed back at him.

"Boys, boys, calm down!" Sasuke's father spoke up.

"Naruto, stop being so quiet! Itachi, did you influence him?" Sasuke accused with a glare. The elder sibling sweatdropped. Yet another rare show of emotion.

"So, Naruto, you don't have a family, right?" Sasuke's father asked.

"N-no…"

"And you'd like one, correct?"

"Yeah, I guess…"

"We've got a surprise for you in the morning," Sasuke's father replied simply.

"Na-nani?"

"Cool!" Sasuke sighed. "A surprise! I wonder what it is!"

* * *

"You're sure about this?" the Sandaime asked.

"Yes," Sasuke's father replied.

"Positive? After all, if you somehow decide it isn't right, it'll break his heart if-"

"Trust me, it's right. It's almost as if we've known him for forever. He deserves a chance at a normal life."

"Normal life? People wouldn't find this very normal, considering you're the Uchiha clan."

"You should understand what I mean, Hokage-sama."

"Very well, the forms are over there. Fill them out and get his signature on it here."

"Okay."

* * *

"OI! YOU PROMISED A SURPRISE!" Sasuke called, banging on the door to his parents' bedroom.

"I know I did," Sasuke's father replied from behind Naruto and Sasuke.

"What is it?" Sasuke insisted.

"Here, Naruto, read these."

Naruto took the papers, with Sasuke grumbling, "Papers? What are the papers gonna-Naruto?"

For Naruto had fainted.

After being violently shaken awake, Sasuke insisted, "Well? What is it?"

Naruto shakily held the papers out to Sasuke.

"These are…" Sasuke mumbled. A smile spread over his face.

Naruto sat up, dazed.

"I don't believe it!" Sasuke said in awe. "These are… ADOPTION FORMS!"

With that, both of them fainted.

**A/N So? So? So? Like the chapter? And can anyone remember the names of Sasuke's parents? 'cause I can't! T-T And don't worry, it isn't even close to being over yet! It won't end until I decide it does, since I planned this out earlier! And even then it wouldn't end until I run out of ideas or get bored with the story! YAY!**


	4. Team Seven

The pair woke up eventually, both unable to speak.

"Sign your name right here," Mikoto said, pointing to a line on the form.

Naruto slowly nodded and signed his name.

Sasuke laughed. "YES! NARUTO IS MY ADOPTED BROTHER NOW! HOORAH!" He proceeded to dash to Itachi's room, immediately announcing, "Naruto is our brother now, Itachi!" Before his elder brother could respond, Sasuke was back with Naruto, saying, "Itachi is happy! He practically screamed with joy when he found out! Itachi cares for you just as much as I do! He was crying with joy after finding this out!" **1 **

"Urusai," Itachi said simply, whacking Sasuke on the head.

* * *

The next day had the two new siblings walking to the academy building to get put into teams. "What if we're on different teams?" Naruto fretted. "I'll go mad! We'll hardly get to spend any time together!"

"You barely graduated, and I'm at the top," Sasuke replied. "No offence, but they always put to best with the worst. We'll be together for sure."

"YAY! Hey, how come you know this?"

"Itachi-nee-san told me."

"So nobody knows anything about last night yet, right?"

"Nobody at all, except Hokage-sama and my-OUR-family."

"Cool!"

They took a seat next to each other, only for a bunch of girls (including Sakura) to charge up. Naruto happily spoke up. "Kon-ichiwa, Saku-"

"OUT OF THE WAY, LOSER!" Sakura snapped, pushing him out of the way and sitting next to Sasuke.

The raven-haired nin wasn't too happy about that, but he and Naruto had talked over what they would do in this situation on their way to the place. "Pleasure to see you again, Sakura-chan."

"What about me?" Ino asked, curiously.

"You too, of course, Ino-chan," Sasuke replied, grinning. Naruto surpressed a laugh.

"So," Sakura asked with a romantic sigh, "who gets to be your first kiss?"

"Neither of you."

"WHAT?"

"I can't love a girl who pushed my brother to the floor."

"I NEVER PUSHED ITACHI-SAMA TO THE FLOOR!" Sakura insisted.

"NEITHER DID I!" Ino added.

"You did one minute ago," Sasuke replied, smiling. He got up and helped Naruto to his feet. "Oh, wait, you thought I meant Itachi? Sorry, no."

"NANI? THAT LOSER ISN'T RELATED TO YOU!" all the girls screeched.

"Think you know everything that goes on in my family, do you?" Sasuke asked with a smirk. Naruto giggled and sat back with Sasuke.

The raven-haired Genin held out the adoption form in front of the girls, who screeched and sat across the room.

"That was definitely funny," Naruto remarked.

"Those forms are real?" Shikamaru asked from in front of them. "You're kidding me."

"Nope, they're real, all right!" Sasuke replied happily.

Sure enough, the teams were formed.

"Team seven; Uzumaki Naruto-"

Naruto turned away from his conversation with Sasuke and Shikamaru.

"-Haruno Sakura-"

"GYA!" Naruto moaned. "WHY IS THE WORLD SO CRUEL?"

"HA!" Ino laughed. "YOU GOT STUCK WITH AN IDIOT!"

Sasuke tossed a glare at her.

"Why, why, why?" Sakura complained. "Why am I stuck with HIM?"

"Uchiha Sasuke."

At that, all three stood up with a, "YES!"

"I'M WITH SASUKE!" Naruto cheered. "THE BAD PART OF THE DAY IS OVER! LIFE IS GOOD AGAIN! Wait, what do I mean by again? My life was good before? Lessee… When was my life good…" Naruto pondered for a few seconds.

"SHUT UP AND MOVE OVER!" Sakura hissed, dragging him away and placing herself next to Sasuke. Naruto got back up and sat down, Sakura now in the middle. Sasuke had an annoyed look on his face.

* * *

After the rest of the teams were announced, the three left the building. "So, Sasuke, since we're a team and all, shouldn't we have lunch together?"

"I suppose it's necessary," Sasuke replied with a shrug. "Come on, you two."

Sakura sighed. "Why do we have to bring him with us?" She spat the word, 'him.' Naruto winced.

"Well, you could always eat alone," Sasuke replied.

"Then again, I think I can stand that moron with us!" Sakura changed her mind.

Team seven sat down in a small park, eating lunch on the grass. "So, Sakura, me and Naruto know each other well, can you introduce yourself to us?"

"Well, you already know my name, Sasuke… Also, I really want to know why you adopted Naruto in the first place. He's a loser!"

Naruto looked away, hurt. Sasuke glared at her.

"Call Naruto a loser again and you'll regret it."

"But why, Sasuke? Why'd the noble Uchiha clan adopt HIM?"

Sasuke slapped her. Naruto turned his head towards the sound. "Sasuke!" he gasped. "Don't do that!"

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't!" Sasuke demanded.

"Because we just learned we're going to be on the same team as her and she hasn't gotten a chance to know either of us very well yet, other than being your fangirl! So stop it!"

"Fine… If you say so, I suppose…"

Sakura was still in shock. She slowly regained her composure. "Sorry, Sasuke… I'm gonna go eat somewhere else right now."

Both the boys watched her walk away, still under slight trauma. "Sasuke?" Naruto addressed.

"Yeah?"

"I'm going to go talk to her-alone," he added.

"You sure?"

"Yes, very."

* * *

Naruto walked up from behind the pink-haired girl on the bench. "Sakura-chan?" he called.

Sakura turned around, eyes red after all the crying. "What do YOU want?"

"I'm sorry about Sasuke, in all the time I've known him, he's never done something like that," Naruto began. "So… I hope you aren't hurt. Forgive me, please, it was on my account that he slapped you."

Sakura turned around. For a moment she looked like she was going to forgive him, but then… She punched him. "FORGIVE YOU?" she shrieked, nearly breaking the blonde's jaw. "It's because of you that Sasuke doesn't like me! All because of you! I bet your parents are still alive, they just disowned you because of how horrible you are! You ruined my chance of having a relationship of Sasuke, you… You MONSTER!"

Naruto took a step back. The word at the end had hurt… A lot.

"Sakura-chan, I-"

"SHUT UP! Don't act as if you have the right to even SPEAK to me! You're a lowborn demon-spawn who I hate! You're just laughing at me on the inside, aren't you?" She punched him again, blackening his eye.

"Please, I'm-"

"URUSAI!"

More punches, more kicks, more taunts…

He had thought this was over… Boy, was he wrong…

One more punch, and his confidence that his life was going to take a turn snapped.

He fell to his knees, crying. Sakura paused, looking down, slightly shocked. She hadn't expected this.

"Please…" Naruto whimpered, "I'm sorry, okay? I didn't know I was such a burden to everyone!" He slowly got up and walked away, the tears still coming. "I just wanted to say sorry…"

Sakura just watched him, and lowered her fist. _What have I done? _

**A/N Guilt, guilt, guilt! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I'm so EVIL! And also, sadly, I've been nicknamed "Pervy SCC" (well, they use my actual name, of course) because of my love of yaoi lemons. Don't know what lemons are? Well, don't start searching for them. They can either become addicitive or scar you for life. No, it isn't a lemon-eating contest between the characters in the summary… -.-' Oh, and now my friends are asking whether it's the "Ero" or the "Sennin" part that means pervert. Strange… I once knew, but I forgot. Does anyone remember? I'm so disorganized, I can't even keep the files in my BRAIN neat and tidy… -sigh- **

**1-Yep, as Fruits Basket watchers know, I stole this from the part where Yuki's brother was ranting about how eager Yuki was to go to his store. XD So imagine the Scottish-sounding music if you read it over.**


	5. Happy Times

"Naruto?" Sasuke called. He'd expected Naruto to be home by dinner as usual-he was always worried he'd inconvenience someone if he came back late-but the dobe wasn't there.

_"What do you mean, he isn't back yet?" Sasuke asked. _

_"Wasn't he still with you?" Fugaku asked. _

_"No, he left to go talk with… Sakura!" _

"SAKURA! NARUTO!" Sasuke hollored.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura called from behind him. Sasuke turned to see her running over. He had expected Naruto to be with her, but was shocked to see that it was just Sakura, who was crying. "Sasuke-kun, I'm so sorry! I'm the lowest of the low, I blamed everything on him, got really mad, hurt him, made him cry, I'm so sorry! Please help me find him!" she sobbed, guilt poured into her words.

It wasn't faked.

"What happened after that?" Sasuke asked her.

"He walked away! I tried to follow him, but he used a replication!"

Sasuke glanced around. "We'll ask Hinata or Neji for help."

* * *

"Naruto vanished?" the Hyuuga branch member repeated, stunned.

"Yes, please help us find him!"

"I guess we could…" Hinata murmured nervously.

Neji nodded. "Byaukugen!" After a few minutes of searching, he pointed towards a wooded area. "That way. Only-"

Sakura and Sasuke had already started running towards the spot.

* * *

"Naruto-kun!!" Sakura called. "Naruto-kun!"

"Naruto, where are you?" Sasuke shouted through the trees.

The two ninja leapt tree to tree, looking back and forth as they went.

"NARUTO!" Sasuke yelled as loud as he could. "WHERE ARE YOU?"

"Sasuke-kun!"

Sasuke leapt back a tree to where Sakura was standing. She turned and leapt down. It only took a few seconds for Sasuke to understand why, There, under a large tree, was Naruto.

"Naruto!" they both gasped. The blonde was sleeping soundly against the tree trunk. Or at least for a few seconds, considering Sasuke kicked him awake.

"CHIBI KITSUNE!" Naruto gasped, before looking around. **1 **"What? Sasuke-nee-san? Sakura-chan?" He backed away from the pink-haired ninja, who shrieked at him.

"BAKA!" Sakura screeched. "WHY DIDN'T YOU HIT ME BACK? AND WHY DID YOU RUN OFF? WE WERE WORRIED SICK! GUILT IS NOT A HAPPY FEELING, MIGHT I ADD!"

"Guilt? What guilt?" Naruto asked, confused.

"I PUNCHED YOU, MORON!"

"Why would you be guilty about that?"

"STOP MAKING ME FEEL WORSE!"

"I'm sorry, I'm only asking why, nobody who's hit me before has ever felt guilty!"

"SAY NOTHING!" Sasuke barked, slapping a hand over Naruto's mouth before he let the Kyuubi secret slip. "Now let's go have dinner! Sakura, you can come over."

"Me… At Sasuke-kun's house?" Sakura repeated, as if not believing it.

"I'm not going back! Nothing's changed, people still punch me!" Naruto insisted.

"Baka, running away won't solve your problems!" Sasuke hissed. "It'll only CAUSE problems! Come on!"

Naruto nodded, a smile spreading across his face. "Thanks, Sasuke-nee-san! I won't forget that advice!"

"Dobe."

"Te-oh, wait, that'd insult everyone… Kuso!" **2**

And so, they all went to the Uchiha compound. Sakura was blushing, holding Sasuke's hand, and leaning against him. Naruto rolled his eyes while Sasuke twitched slightly. Sure, he and Naruto had befriended her by now, but…

Anyway, team seven eventually walked inside, and sat down at dinner.

"Oy! Weasel!" Sasuke called. "We're home!"

"Itachi's on a mission," Mikoto laughed. "I see you found Naruto. What happened?"

"Went for a walk, lost track of time," Naruto replied before Sasuke could say anything.

"Alright, dinner's on the table. And you're Sakura-chan, correct?" Fugaku asked.

"Hai, Uchiha-sama!"

Sasuke sweatdropped. "Uchiha-sama, Uchiha-sama, WHY MUST EVERYONE SAY THAT?"

Feeling he could annoy Sasuke, Naruto-what else did you expect?-spoke up; "Uchiha-sama, Uchiha-sama, Uchiha-sama, Uchiha-sama!"

Sasukle twitched. "Naruto, you're evil."

"I know, isn't it great?" his adopted brother replied, laughing because he knew Sasuke didn't really mean it. **3 **

**

* * *

**

"Ikatakimasu!"

"So, Sakura-chan, you're part of Sasuke and Naruto's team?" Mikoto inquired. **4**

"Mmhmm!" Sakura replied proudly.

"Alright, let's look over our team," Sasuke sighed. "We've got a hyperactive orange-wearing dobe and a know-it-all wimp."

Sakura had anime tears at the insult. Naruto made a comeback, however. "And we have the emo prince!"

"NANI?"

"Yeah, Itachi-nee-san is the stoic king, and you're the emo prince!"

"SINCE WHEN HAVE I BEEN EMO?"

"You tried to get me to join you the first time we met when you stabbed me with a kunai! I SHALL NOT SLIT!"

"WE WE'RE SPARRING! I WAS SUPPOSED TO TRY TO STAB YOU!"

"Emo!"

"Hmph!"

"You two fight like dogs and monkeys!" Itachi sighed from the doorway. **5 **

"WHY DOES EVERYONE IN THIS FAMILY POP OUT OF NOWHERE?"

**A/N Pretty short, sorry. I PROMISE the next one will be longer! Anyway, I put a lot of numbers here, so here come the explanations! **

**1-Yes, to those of you who don't know, if you wake up from stage 4 sleep, you CAN possibly say something totally random. Or maybe it was REM sleep (not the Shinigami from Death Note. -.-') that causes that… I can't remember. But one of my friends at a sleepover got woken up during that phase, and said "Tomato!" XD **

**2-"Teme" means-here comes the bad word-"bastard." And in case you don't know (I doubt you don't, but just in case), the word "bastard" means someone who was born from an unmarried couple. **

**3-CURSE YOU, NARUTO! YOU STOLE MY LINE! (You'd get what I mean if I've messaged you, or you read my other stories, but yeah, I put that there because I thought it fit in perfectly. XD) **

**4-Sheesh, parents ALWAYS ask about things they already know! **

**5-This one is serious. I learned while reading "Guru-Guru Pon-chan" that, rather than "cats in dogs," in Japan it's "dogs and monkeys." I don't get it, but they might not get our version, either, so what do I know?**


	6. The Sharingan and the Outcast

"WHAT'S TAKING SO LONG?" Naruto complained. 

"Urusai," Sakura replied. "I'm not happy, either! Why does our sensei have to be so late? Everyone else has left!"

"Naruto, you're good at annoying people. Do something to annoy our sensei when they get here," Sasuke sighed.

"I was just about to," Naruto replied, taking an eraser from the chalkboard and placing it up on the slightly open door.

"No Jonin would fall for that!" Sakura insisted.

"Who's to say they won't, if they're stupid enough to leave us waiting?" Naruto replied.

"Hn, nobody's THAT dumb," Sasuke said, siding with Sakura for once.

"Someone's coming! Act natural!"

"Dobe."

"BAKA!"

The door opened.

PLOP!

Of course, Naruto burst out laughing while Sakura and Sasuke sweatdropped.

Naruto; "HAHAHA! YOU SERIOUSLY FELL FOR IT!"

Sakura; "I'm sorry, sensei, Naruto did that on his own, I TRIED to stop him, but he wouldn't listen!"

Sasuke; "Urusai, Sakura, anyone who fell for such a lame trick can't possibly be a Jonin!"

The silver-haired ninja walked in. "Well, my first impression of you three is… I hate you."

"WHO CARES? YOU FELL FOR IT!" Naruto was laughing insanely. "I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'RE EVEN A NINJA! HAHAHA!"

"NARUTO, SHUT UP! SHOW SOME RESPECT!" Sakura barked, shoving him.

"OWWIE! NII-SAN, SAKURA-CHAN HIT ME!"

"SakuRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Sasuke proceeded to hit her on the head. Sakura glared at him.

"I'm not about to get into trouble for Naruto's stupidity!"

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" the blonde sobbed with anime tears.

"YOU MADE NARUTO CRY, BAKA!" Sasuke hissed.

"Guys, cool it, would you?" the Jonin insisted as team seven continued their argument. _I wonder what idiot put these three together? _

Somewhere else, Iruka sneezed. _I wonder who's talking about me?

* * *

_

"So, my name is Hatake Kakashi. As for my hobbies… I really don't feel like telling you guys about my hobbies. My dream? I never really thought about that… And my likes and dislikes? I don't really feel like telling you guys that, either."

Great. They had learned his name.

"We'll start with you. What's your name?" Kakashi asked, looking at Sakura.

"Haruno Sakura. My hobbies? Well… I like learning, I guess. My dream is to marry…" She stared at Sasuke and blushed. "I like… Sasuke-kun… And I dislike how annoying Naruto can be at times!"

"Uchiha Sasuke," Sasuke began simply. "My hobbies include training with Naruto, my dream is… Hn, I guess I don't really know. I like training with Naruto, and I strongly dislike Sakura when she insults him."

"Uzumaki Naruto! My hobby is training with Sasuke and eating ramen!"

"Eating ramen doesn't count as a hobby!" Sakura insisted.

"Don't interrupt Nii-san," Sasuke said with a deadly glare.

"H-hai…"

Naruto continued, "My dream is… Gah, I dunno… OOH! Yes I do! I wanna be recognized by every single one of the villagers!" He then went over to the side of the roof they were on top of and shouted down, "YOU HEAR THAT? I WILL HAVE YOU ALL RECOGNIZE MY AWESOMENESS!"

"STOP IT, NARUTO!" Sakura insisted, "YOU COULD EMBARRASS A CARCASS, YOU'RE SO NOISY!"

"Well," Naruto continued, sitting back down, "I like training, especially with Nii-san. I don't really dislike anything, except…" He trailed off, immediately thinking of the Kyuubi.

"Alright, can someone explain one thing to me?" Kakashi asked. "I thought Naruto was an orphan. What's all this 'Nii-san' talk?"

"You haven't heard?" Sakura asked curiously. "Sheesh, you'd of thought Sasuke and Naruto had blabbed it to the entire world!"

"What?" Kakashi inquired. He wasn't curious enough to lose sleep over it, but he still wanted to know.

"Naruto-nii-san was adopted by my clan," Sasuke replied with a shrug.

The Jonin was glad he wore a mask, for his jaw dropped. How long had it been since an ordinary person was adopted into a shinobi clan? Years! And a clan with a kekai genkai? Never! Didn't Naruto feel at least slightly out of place, considering he would eventually feel left out because he would never achieve Sharingan like Sasuke?

"Kakashi-sensei, you haven't said anything for two entire minutes!" Naruto insisted. "Is it really that shocking?"

"Slightly, yes," Kakashi replied, "considering I haven't once heard of a non-clan ninja becoming part of a clan with a kekai genkai."

"So what?" Sasuke sighed. "Big deal."

"It IS a big deal. Naruto, doesn't it bother you in the least that you can't be a true member of Sasuke's family because you don't have the ability to unlock the Sharingan?"

Sasuke froze. How come he hadn't realized that? If he was able to use Sharingan, it would make Naruto feel terrible being so weak compared to him!

"No, not really," Naruto replied simply. "So I'll be the weakest, big deal? I still have Sasuke-nii-san. It's better than it was being alone… Much better…"

Silence.

"Alright, see you all at the training field tomorrow. And don't eat breakfast."

"Why?" they all asked at once.

"You'll throw up."

"YATTO! TIME TO TRAIN OUR REARS OFF, GUYS!" Naruto yelped with glee. **1 **

**

* * *

**

"Naruto," Sasuke inquired after Sakura left, and the two were alone walking home through the Uchiha compound, "how can you not mind?"

"Not mind what?"

"You… You can't get Sharingan."

"How can I NOT not mind? It's not that big of a deal, I'll get stronger in my own way."

"You won't feel left out?"

"Of course I won't! Unless…" Naruto looked away.

"Unless what?"

"Sasuke, you'll always be Nii-san, right?"

"What are you talking about? Of course!"

"Then I'm fine being the odd one out," the Jinchuuriki responded with a fox-grin. "If you don't mind, then I'm alright with anything."

"Nn…"

But Sasuke had his doubts.

* * *

"Sasuke, we can't eat breakfast, remember?" Naruto hissed before Sasuke sat down at the table.

The raven-haired ninja froze. "I knew that! I was just testing you!"

"Yeah, whatever helps you sleep at night," Naruto replied. Itachi smiled… Although only a bit, so it wasn't noticed by anyone.

"Well, why are we listening to Kakashi-sensei, anyway?" Sasuke sighed. "He fell for that crappy eraser trick!"

"I wouldn't call my eraser trick crappy, Sasuke."

"Why not?"

"Oh, nothing… Hey, would you shut that door? You're closest to it."

SLAM! PLONK!

"ACK!" Sasuke yelped as a bucket of water fell on his head.

And Itachi was forced to use all his willpower to keep himself from laughing, let alone just smiling.

"Sasuke, onii-sama has a weird look on his face!" Naruto remarked.

"Nani? Itachi, what's wrong?"

"I'm going to get ready for a mission," the elder Uchiha responded calmly, before leaving the room, slamming the door behind him, and chuckling slightly. _The things I do to remain sane… I can't believe I just laughed… How unnecessary for a shinobi. _

**A/N I feel sorry for Itachi-sama, Naruto and Sasuke seem to be so very hard to keep from laughing at. XD**

**And OMG! Can't the manga just GET IT OVER WITH? Sasuke and Itachi have been fighting for who knows how many issues! GAH! AND THE MOST RECENT ISSUE MAKES ME WANT TO KILL SASUKE, TOO!**

**1-Yatto means, "at last!" **

**Thank you, The Under Handed One, for being the beta! - Although I have ONE issue… **

**Should I be spelling Kakashi's rank "Jonin" or "Jounin?" The rules of romaji say that spelling it Jounin means it's pronounced "jo-uh-neen," even though it's how most English people would assume it's pronounced. However, the spelling Jonin is pronounced how it is in the anime. So… Which one? -.-' I'm confuzzled.**


	7. Uchiha Pride

"HE'S LATE AGAIN!" Naruto barked punching a tree. "GAH!"

"Give it a rest, Naruto," Sakura insisted.

"NII-SAN WILL GIVE IT A REST WHEN HE FEELS LIKE IT!"

"Sasuke, don't punch anyone."

"Hmph."

"Come on, the poor tree isn't going to live with the current thinness of the trunk, since you destroyed half of it!"

"URUSAI!"

"Hey, guys, we got more D-rank missions today!

Naruto and Sakura; "YOU'RE LATE!"

"So much for yelling at Naruto," Sasuke mused.

"NO MORE D-RANKS! I WANT A NINJA MISSION!"

* * *

"Alright," the Third gave in. "You three can have a C-rank mission."

"Are you sure, Hokage-sama?" Kakashi asked. Iruka agreed.

"Yes."

"YATTO! I'M GONNA ME THE BEST NINJA EVER!" Once more, he stuck his head out the window and called, "YOU HERE THAT? I WILL MAKE YOU ALL RECOGNIZE MY AWESOMENESS!"

"URUSAI!" Sakura hissed, yanking Naruto back inside.

The inner Sasuke was currently screaming, _HA! IN YOUR FACE, ITACHI! _

"Alright, send in the bridgebuilder."

After a bit of waiting, the man walked in. "So these gakkis are my bodyguards?"

"HEY!" Naruto growled. "You can call ME a brat, but when you insult Sasuke-nii-san, I get VERY MAD!"

The raven-haired Uchiha made sure to hold Naruto back. "LEMME GO, NII-SAN! I NEED TO AVENGE YOU!"

"Don't assault the client, baka!" Sasuke hissed in his ear. Naruto sighed and relaxed, so Sasuke finally loosened his grip and allowed Kyuubi's vessel to move again.

"I don't trust those three," the client said simply.

"Don't worry," Kakashi assured the bridgebuilder. "I'm a Jonin, so despite their obvious lack of skill, there shouldn't be any problems."

* * *

Naruto was throwing a hyperactive fit as they exited the village. "Sweet!"

Sakura, feeling what was coming next, slapped her hand over Naruto's mouth before he could screech, 'IN YOUR FACE' at the villagers.

"I don't like that short one," Tazuna mumbled to Kakashi.

"HEY!" Sasuke hissed. "INSULT NII-SAN AGAIN AND I WILL PERSONALLY KICK YOUR-"

"No assaulting the client, baka," Naruto said, mocking Sasuke's earlier remark.

"You keep calling each other 'nii-san' when you don't look anything alike…" Tazuna remarked.

"Hmph!" Naruto replied simply as they walked onward.

"Naruto, stop being so rude! You too, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura scolded the two.

"Who do you think you are?" Sasuke asked. "Our mother?"

"Hey, you made sure to pack instant ramen, Sasuke, right?" Naruto asked after a short silence.

"No, of course not! I packed something healthy!"

"GAH! I knew I should have volunteered for packing food, but no, I decided I wanted to pack other supplies… Why must you keep me from my ramen???"

"Because you'd think that after literally eating nothing but ramen most of your life, you'd get tired of it by now!"

"Meanie!"

"Alright, that's enough, you two," Kakashi insisted. _When will they shut up? _

It was then Naruto stepped in a puddle. "ACK! Stupid puddle!" He kicked some of the water, causing it to splash away. The poor, poor puddle. It proceeded to change back into a Mist ninja, bleeding because of the kick. Boy, he knew he would definitely make sure that technique got revised. "Brat, I hope you're ready to pay for that with your life."

"N-nani? I thought the mission was C-ranked!" Sakura gasped.

Even Naruto turned slightly pale, while Sasuke stepped back. There were two ninja, and Kakashi had vanished somewhere. "What the heck? Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto called, shaking.

The bleeding nin held Naruto up by the shirt collar, while everyone else watched, a second one leaping down from the trees. "S-s-sasuke-nii-san! H-help! Kaway! KAWAY!" **1 **

Tazuna stepped back, shocked. _I should have known this wouldn't work out. They're only gakkis, and this was expected to be a simple task with only thieves at most. A genin hasn't got a chance against Mist nin… _He turned to face the second nin. _So I guess this is the end for me and the Wave village… _

"Don't worry, I'll make it fast," the Mist nin promised Naruto with a smirk, wielding the poisonous claws.

"Sakura," Sasuke said quickly and firmly, "You help the client. I'll help Naruto."

"G-got it."

Sasuke leapt at the Jinchuuriki's aggressor and kicked him out of the way, leaving Naruto with only a shallow scratch on his hand. "Those gloves were poisonous… I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die!" he sobbed.

"Don't worry, it'll be okay, just help me rescue Sakura and Tazuna, okay?"

"Hai…"

Naruto and Sasuke were next to Sakura as the ninja approached. Just as all four of them were sure it was over, Kakashi came out of nowhere and knocked the enemy unconscious.

"Where were you when we needed you?" Sakura asked, trying to sound angry, but fear made her voice sound squeaky and helpless.

"Sorry 'bout that, I'm afraid I got lost on the road of li-"

"Don't say that when you just got Naruto poisoned!" Sasuke hissed, his anger beating fear, unlike Sakura.

"We'll take care of it back at the village."

"What about the mission?" Naruto asked.

"Yes… What about the mission, Tazuna?" Kakashi was glaring at the old man as he tied the two unconscious Mist nin to a tree,

After it was explained, Naruto lowered his head. "I'm not holding Sasuke-nii-san back. We should continue."

"No, we shouldn't," Kakashi replied sternly. "Your all just Genin. In was a stretch to have you on something C-rank, but this is B-rank. Maybe even A-rank."

"And what about the poison?" Sasuke asked anxiously.

Naruto glared at him. "I said that I wanted to continue, didn't I? Let me show you how serious I am." He pulled a kunai out of his bag.

"N-naruto," Sasuke asked, hesitating, "What are you doing?"

Kyuubi's vessel plunged the kunai into the wound on his hand, drawing blood and letting the slightly-spread purple-colored poison ooze out. "I believe we understand each other a little better now." _I'm not going to let Sasuke put his life in danger for me again… Not Sasuke, not anyone! _

"Naruto, that was sort of cool and all, but if you lose any more blood, you're going to die."

"N-NANI?"

* * *

"So, as I briefly explained before, the village doesn't have the money to pay for everything because of Gato," Tazuna finished with a sigh as the boat continued forward.

As they got off, the client gave the one who had driven the boat a "thank-you" before they headed off to his house.

"Grandpa!" a young boy cried happily, hugging Tazuna. **2 **"Who are they?"

"Those are the ones who escorted me here," Tazuna replied, stepping inside.

Kakashi smiled in greeting, even though the mask covered it up. Sakura waved. Naruto clung to Sasuke's arm, while Sasuke desperately tried to scrape him off. _Is this how Itachi feels sometimes? _Sasuke asked himself, before finally prying the blonde's fingers loose.

"They don't look like much to me," the boy growled.

"Inari!" the one who was seemingly his mother scolded. "Excuse him, he does that sometimes. Please come in, dinner is on the table."

After everyone got a plate (Naruto sitting next to Sasuke, of course), Inari reluctantly took a seat next to Naruto. "You guys should just leave, before you get killed," he mused.

"Inari, stop that!" his mother insisted.

"But it's true! We're all gonna die eventually, because Gato is too strong!" Inari snapped.

"Nii-san can take anybody!" Naruto insisted. Sasuke gave him a whack on the head.

"Hey!" Sakura said, "You won't let ME hit him!"

Sasuke threw her a death glare, and she went silent.

"Owwie! Nii-san hit me! Nii-san's never hit me before!" Naruto insisted with anime tears.

"Stop being such a dobe," Sasuke growled. "We're on a mission. Adopted or not, you're technically an Uchiha now, so think of your pride!" The last words were hissed into Naruto's ear.

"Pride. Got it. Not gonna forget."

Sasuke nodded in approval as Naruto calmly and quietly sat down, as if trying to copy Itachi's usual expression. Sasuke mentally sweatdropped and thought, _In my spare time, I need to teach him what an Uchiha needs to know… Before he decides to copy Itachi's way of things instead… _He was scared of the mental image.

After everyone finished eating, Sasuke and Naruto found themselves sleeping in Tazuna's room, Kakashi settling for the couch, and Sakura with Inari's mother. Both the true Uchiha and the Jicnhuuriki inwardly wished they were in Kakashi's position instead, though neither said it out loud.

Before everyone parted, Naruto asked, "There aren't… Mice in this house, are there?"

Sasuke froze. During the night, Naruto had learned to control his urges, knowing that the Uchiha compound was mice-free, but hearing the pitter-patter of their steps might set him off…

"A few, why?" Tazuna asked.

Naruto turned slightly green. Sasuke made sure to comfort him. "Just don't think about it…" he insisted. "I'll stop you if you wake up, okay?"

Sasuke explained things to everyone, only to find Kakashi and Sakura just as shocked as the rest. "Eheh… Naruto tends to subconsciously hunt mice in his sleep…"

"And you didn't tell us this, why?" Kakashi asked, a vein appearing on the small exposed section of his forehead.

"Too embarrassing to admit," Naruto replied, scratching the back of his head. **3 **

"I have an idea," Sakura put in.

* * *

"Iie." **4 **

"Come on, it'll work fine," Sasuke sighed, getting into his sleeping bag and staring at Naruto, who was tied up inside his own, sporting the same blue pajamas and an otter cap as usual.

"Feh."

* * *

**A/N**

**1-Despite sounding like 'kawaii,' 'kaway' means 'I'm scared,' not 'cute/adorable.' **

**Anyway, that was the chapter, hope you liked it. **

**2-I forgot how to say 'grandpa' in Japanese. **

**3-You know, the thing an embarrassed anime character does. **

**4-TO those that don't know, 'iie' means 'no.' **


	8. Best Friend, How Could You?

* * *

Bright red eyes flashed around the bedroom.

And it wasn't Sharingan.

Sasuke grunted as something rolled over him. He discarded the thought; it was obviously a dream.

But he got up to a snapping sound, same as Tazuna. "What was that?" Sasuke asked as he shot upward, immediately on his feet. "Ne, where's Naru-"

He didn't bother finishing. Instead, both he and Tazuna rushed down the stairs. "Why are his eyes red?" the bridgebuilder asked, pointing to the blonde on all fours as he walked across the ground, quietly following something.

"Better catch him before he waked up with blood in his teeth…"

At those words, Sasuke leapt, tackling Naruto. The red immediately switched to blue, and he looked around, confused. "What happened?"

"You snapped the ropes," Sasuke replied simply. "I suppose we should have guessed that you would be able to do that, seeing as while you're in that state, partial control looks like it's given to Kyuu-"

He stopped himself, remembering Tazuna was in the room. "Anyway, let's get back to bed. Maybe earplugs will work better…"

* * *

After that night, they found that yes, earplugs would work, but Sasuke still planned to help Naruto keep from waking everyone up like that. Despite a few technical difficulties, Kakashi decided to start training them in the ways of tree-climbing!

Without hands!

"NANI?"

"Just focus the chakra in your feet, like I showed you."

* * *

"OWWIE!" Naruto whimpered, hitting his head.

"Baka, use more chakra!"

"Coming from the person who broke through the tree trunk!"

"Too much is better than too little! At least you get high enough to flip onto your feet in time!"

"Hey, guys!" Sakura called from on a branch.

"NE? How'd you do it, Sakura-chan? Great job, by the way!" Naruto called.

A vein appeared on her forehead. "Sasuke-kun, what do you think?"

"I think Naruto needs some lessons in 'pride.' "

Naruto froze. "Complimenting someone isn't an insult to pride, is it?"

"Using too much chakra makes you seem stronger, even if you don't get the jutsu right. You, on the other hand, make yourself seem weaker by using too little chakra."

"…Urusai."

"Alright, Sakura-chan, you should go back since you can do the jutsu," Sasuke sighed. Sakura nodded, jumped down, and left. "Alright, Naruto, while we're doing this, I'm going to give you some situations, and you're going to tell me what you should do, 'kay?"

"Okay!"

"Alright…" Sasuke began, running up the tree as he spoke. "You've just been… Asked out on a date by someone you like. What do you do?"

"SAY YES!"

"No, you walk away and play hard-to-get!"

"Oh… Woops…"

This was going to take awhile.

* * *

"I'm…" Naruto panted, "almost there… Just a few more feet…"

Sasuke continued his lesson as the two dashed up agaibn, almost making it to the top. "You've gotten yourself into a situation where if you don't listen to what the other person says, one of your close friends will die. What will you do?"

"Calmly," Naruto huffed, "accept, and cry later on."

"Baka…" Sasuke sighed, forcing himself to sound strong even though he had no more energy than Naruto. "Come on… I just need to go a little higher…"

* * *

"Alright, Shisui, tell me… Why did you want to meet me here, again?"

The pair sat next to a deep, fast-moving river. Shisui was busy writing something down, bangs covering up his eyes as he did so. Itachi sighed. "Shisui, why are you smiling so much?"

"Oh, nothing," his best friend replied, putting the paper into his pocket and laughing, bangs now out of his face. "Itachi, have you ever wondered what death would be like?"

"Not particularly," Itachi replied, tossing his hair out of his face. Shisui was the only one he'd ever really been open with. Neither of them questioned the other, they just poured their thoughts out to each other, even if it was something personal. This, Sasuke's elder brother believed, must have come from the fact that one of Shisui's teammates from his Genin days had recently been killed on a mission. He had a right to feel slightly bad about it, as it was obvious the laughter was faked.

"Think about it, Itachi. Dying. Ending it all. Or maybe… What would it be like to kill someone close to you?"

"Why do you ask? I'm not one to ponder these things."

"Well, Itachi, I was just wondering… If I really had to kill you, and you could… I dunno, somehow realize it was me, like a ghost or something, then would you hold a grudge?"

"Depends," was the reply with a slight laugh. However, this was not uncommon. Itachi would laugh ONLY around Shisui, and when nobody else was there. That was all. Never would he show emotion to anyone he didn't quite trust that much. Not that he didn't trust Sasuke or Naruto, but they were… Well, slightly immature for their age. He found emotions to be quite problematic, actually, but that point of view just faded away at times like these. _Oto-san would have a fit and say a ninja must show no emotion. Okaa-chan would be speechless for a few days, _he thought, picturing the reactions.

"Well, let's say there was something really worthwhile I could get from it."

"No offence, but what would possibly be that worthwhile?"

Shisui turned his head back and forth a few times, checking to see if anyone was around, before leaning close to Itachi and whispering, "The Mangekyo Sharingan, Itachi."

At that, the prodigy just stared at him, and chuckled. "Baka, that's just a legend. There's no such thing as the Mangekyo Sharingan!"

"Oh, isn't there? Look at these," Shisui said simply, pulling a scroll out of his robe. Itach gasped.

"That's the Uchiha clan's scroll, you can't look at that!"

"Just read it!"

Curiosity drove Itachi to read.

_…and so to achieve the Mangekyo Sharingan, one must be prepared for the ultimate heartbreak. The Sharingan, which is based on a friendship system, will, like a living entity, detect one's inner stress, slowly taking it upon themselves, and thus causing blindness after a period of time; a slow rate which is increased upon usage of this technique. This friendship system goes like this: An Uchiha will find that their best friend is in trouble. They fight alongside that best friend in an attempt to defeat the opponent, either literally (an enemy) or figuratively (a mental stress). This activates the basic, incomplete Sharingan. Upon a fight with said friend, verbally or physically, with killer intent, said Uchiha will gain a normal Sharingan. The Mangekyo is no different. Upon killing one's best friend, that Uchiha will receive the stress of the eyes that causes a shuriken-shape, as well as the jutsu that are brought with it. The physical torture in what appears to be a Genjutsi is caused by forming the stress into a weapon or torture device of choice, which enables the enemy to feel it. The black flames are caused by the same thing, only combined with Gokakyu no jutsu. Just like the horrible feeling inside oneself, the flames will never burn out, unless sealed. Furthermore…_

He read no more. "Shisui, you can't be serious. Did I miss April Fool's Day or something?"

"Gomen, Itachi. But I want it."

Itachi froze. "You know I can beat you in a fight any day, even kill you."

"Yes, but will you?" Shisui asked, grinning. "We are best friends, after all." He pulled out a katana, brandishing it. "Gomen again, Itachi. Please bear no ill will against me. When I rule all the great shinobi nations, I shall give credit to you. You'll be a legend; the one who helped put an end to the wars amongst our countries."

"Shisui, wait!" Itachi insisted. "You-you'll go blind!"

"So what? A small price to pay for saving the world."

"You truly believe you are saving it? Think of all those you will have to kill to accomplish such! Including me!"

"Alas, this is a truly large price to pay… But yet so worth it. The prized possession of the traveler is traded for something new and worthy… So goodbye, my friend. My time with you has been the best of my life."

"Shisui, stop!" Itachi tried to make him understand. "Shisui, don't make me kill you!"

"Even the strongest ninja has one he can never kill… Which is why I kill you as not myself, but a hollow body without a soul instead."

"Shisui… You are no longer my friend. You've changed into someone I could never care about in a thousand years!" With that, Itachi wielded a kunai.

"You wouldn't," Shisui laughed. "Oh, and F-Y-I, the writing I was doing before was a faked suicide note… I'd explain the whole thing after conquest, of course. Can't have my firend's name be in vain for too long, can I?"

"I am not your friend, you are not mine, Shisui. From now on, we are enemies."

And with that, his body became crows, and a kunai was plunged into the back of the unsuspecting Shisui's head.

"Itachi… You just…" were Shisui's last words as he fell to his knees.

"Shisui…" Realizing what he had done, the Uchiha prodigy lifted the now lifeless and shook it. "Shisui, wake up! WAKE UP, IDIOT! WAKE UP!"

Not even bothering to hide the tears, as nobody was around, he healed the wound at the back of Shisui's head, burned the fake suicide note, and wrote his own after tossing the corpse in the water, using Sharingan to copy the handwriting.

_If you are reading this note, I have found politics too hard. I, Uchiha Shisui, have committed suicide. I am sorry to you all. _

He would not let Shisui end his life a criminal. Whether he had tried to kill him or not, they were still best friends…

"Shisui," Itachi quietly cried. "Gomen nasai…"

He stood up, and wiped the tears away from the shuriken shape in his eyes.

* * *

**A/N Was that last part a little depressing? Gomen nasai, but that may have been a little OCC. But come on, I don't want Itachi to be evil when the time comes! Just fake evil, you know? Everything will get explained later on. Oh, and sorry for the late update. So enjoy the chapter, the next one should come soon… I hope!**


	9. The Moron, the Snob, and the Decapitated

**

* * *

**

I can't believe nobody told me that I forgot the bell test chapter! GAH! Alright, today's chappy will be the missing bell test! Not to mention, I also got a great idea after watching the most recent Naruto Shippuden opening! Oh, and we need to have a vote!

**IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING!**

**We have to vote on which pairing is the main pairing(s)! So here are the options for the main pairing(s): **

**SasuSaku and Naru(girl of choice)-Please don't make me write about this, PLEASE!-**

**SasuNaru and (boy of choice)Saku-VOTE FOR THIS! I BEG OF YOU!- **

**NaruSaku and Sasu(girl of choice)-PLEASE, NOOOOOO!-**

**So anyway, vote on those and we'll find out what the pairing will be later. For the record, the only reason I gave you choices is because I wasn't so sure in the beginning what this was going to be, and I don't want to lose a whole bunch of readers that don't like shonen ai, okay? So I will try to please you all… Even if it means no shonen ai. (For those who don't know, shonen ai and yaoi are the same thing, shonen ai is just the proper term for yaoi with NO lemons. Sorry for wasting the time of those who do know.)**

* * *

"So, Kakashi-sensei, why exactly did you make us skip breakfast?" Sasuke asked curiously.

"Yeah, I'm hungry!" Naruto complained. "Breakfast was pancakes, and those are only second-best to ramen! AND I DIDN'T GET TO EAT THEM!"

"Shut up, ototo," Sasuke hissed. "Rememb-"

"Pride, got it," Naruto repeated. "…But I'm really hungry!"

"Alright, guys. You're going to have to take these bells from me," Kakashi sighed. "You have until 12 o'clock."

"Ano…" Sakura interrupted, "you only have two bells."

"I know. That way, at least one of you won't get it… And will be tied to one of those posts." Kakashi motioned to the posts. "You also won't get any lunch."

"NANI? WHY DIDN'T YOU WANT US TO EAT BREAKFAST?" Naruto practically screeched at him.

"To make it harder on you!"

All three sweatdropped, hating the man in front of them so very very very very very very much.

"Sa, sa, we just have to get the bells as soon as you say 'go,' right?" Naruto asked. Without waiting for an answer, he sighed, "Piece of cake!"

Sasuke was already planning this out. If Naruto couldn't get the bell on his own (which he probably wouldn't, knowing him) on his first try, Sasuke would get them both. As far as he was concerned, Sakura was nobody. NOBODY! After all, she had punched Naruto, hadn't she? Even if she was guilty about it, she had still done it! He'd choose Naruto over Sakura any day!

"Oh, and whoever gets tied to that post gets sent back to the academy. They'll take away your forehead protector and all."

Everyone gaped at him. Sasuke, however, was thinking, _Yes! Me and Naruto will get the bells, and Sakura will be gone! Forever! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! BYE-BYE, PINK-HAIRED LOSER!_

Naruto was worried, not knowing Sasuke's plan. _WAI! I'm gonna fail, and Sasuke and Sakura will be together! Then Sasuke will be disappointed! I'll be disowned! I don't wanna lose my family again! _Worried, he pictured the conversation in his head.

_"Naruto, you're hopeless. You've disgraced the Uchiha name long enough," Sasuke growled._

_"Yes," Fugaku agreed. "Take your stuff and get out. I should have known a pathetic demon vessel like yourself would do this. You're life is nothing, you simply exist to keep Kyuubi from escaping! You would be better off dead so that there's no risk of the seal breaking! No GO!"_

_"Before you die," Itachi added, Sharingan flashing brightly. Mikoto nodded, giving him an icy glare._

_I will not cry, _Naruto thought. _I will resist the urge to… WAI!_

Sasuke turned to Naruto. "Naruto, why are you crying?"

The Jinchuuriki quickly wiped the tears from his face. "N-nothing, I got some dirt in my eye, is all."

Sakura glared at him. _Sasuke worries more about him than me! Well, doesn't matter. He's hopeless anyway. Me and Sasuke will get the bells, and he'll be stuck a loser forever!_

_Why did I get assigned these morons? _Kakashi asked himself. _Sheesh, maybe I was Mirou's follower in a past life. _**1**

"Go."

All three immediately hid. Well, strike that. Naruto charged up to kakashi, while Sasuke and Sakura watched him from a bush.

Sasuke: _YOU GO NARUTO! KILL HIM DEAD! KILL HIM AND THEN KILL HIM SOME MORE!_

Sakura: _YOU GO KAKASHI-SENSEI!_

Of course, Sakura hadn't yet inherited Tsunade's poor betting skills. Thus, she won, and Kakashi ended up holding both the blonde's arms behind his back. _It's true! _Naruto wanted to cry. _I'll be disowned at this rate!_

That was when he had a brilliant idea! He formed the hand seal behind his back, which Kakashi hadn't expected… "You're dead now! _Tajuu! Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"_

Sakura sweatdropped. _Oh, great. Just what we need, a MORE idiots…_

Sasuke, however, thought differently. _YEAH! YOU SHOW 'IM, DOBE!_

He didn't reveal his thoughts on his face, of course.

* * *

Naruto dangled upside-down. "LEMME DOWN! TASKETE, SASUKE-NII-SAN!" **2**

Sakura walked by after finally waking up. You guessed it, she had fallen for that Genjutsu. Sasuke was currently trying to get the bells for himself and Naruto.

The pink-haired kunoichi laughed. "Baka, you fell for that?"

"Help me, Sakura-chan!"

"Hai, hai, whatever…" She tossed a kunai at the robe, but her aim was slightly off. Okay, VERY off. She hit Naruto's shoulder instead, blood dripping down like a waterfall.

"Smooth," Naruto said mockingly.

"You know what? Get yourself down."

"No, wait, Sakura, gomen nasai!"

"Too late."

She walked off like she owned the ground she walked on.

Naruto glared at her before pulling the kunai out of his damaged shoulder. He wiped the blood away as best he could, waiting a minute for it to heal up before he pulled is body up and grabbed the rope firmly, took out a kunai, and began slicing away.

* * *

Sasuke's luck wasn't much better. He was enough for Kakashi to put away his book, but in all honesty, he felt pathetic. He and Naruto were going back to the academy, for sure! The place they had worked so hard to get out of… He only had a few minutes left! _Seven minutes…_

_Six minutes…_

_Five minutes…_

_Tick, tick, tick._

* * *

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," Naruto mumbled as he got up, cradling his aching head. Note to self; falling onto the ground head first wasn't a good course of action. He should have held onto the rope and let his legs drop first, rather than letting go the moment he was free.

He glanced the clock on the stump. _THREE MINUTES? WAI! I'M USELESS! I BET SASUKE AND SAKURA ALREADY HAVE BELLS!_

Oh, if only he knew.

He walked sadly through the trees, only to find…

"Sakura? You alright?" he asked, worried. Sakura was on the ground, out cold. Well, that meant no response.

"She fainted after thinking I-" Sasuke's voice began, but paused when he heard Naruto begin crying as he turned towards him. "WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAI! SASUKE WAS DECAPITATED! IT'S ALL MY FAULT FOR BEING A FAILURE! I'M TO BLAME FOR SASUKE'S DEMISE! IT'S ALL MY FAULT! I'M NOT WORTHY OF LIVING!"

_30 seconds…_

Sasuke gasped as Naruto held a kunai up to his own neck. He couldn't do anything from under ground! "BAKA, THERE'S NO BLOOD, MY BODY IS BURIED!"

Nope. It was like screaming at the wall.

Before Naruto met a truly pathetic end, Kakashi came out of nowhere and held his arms behind his back, yet again. "Time's up."

"YOU KILLED SASUKE!"

"Did you ever once realize that Sasuke was SPEAKING to you? He isn't dead, baka."

"Oh… Oops…"

Sakura, who had recently regained consciousness, and had heard it, wasn't much better off.

Kakashi continued; "You too, Sakura. I honestly thought you were more intelligent than that."

Yup. You guessed it. And if you didn't, then too bad.

All three were tied to posts.

"Alright," Kakashi sighed. "I'll give you all a chance to redeem yourselves. If you can figure out your mistakes, and answer one last question after that, I might just let you pass. Sakura, let's begin with you."

Sakura looked at the grass in front of her before answering quietly, "I didn't get a bell?"

"Wrong. I'll give you a hint in the form of a question: Why didn't you help Naruto?" Kakashi asked with a steady gaze.

"Because… Well… He's sort of dumb, and I was too obsessed with helping Sasuke-kun that I felt I could leave him there."

"What might have happened if you had been on an actual mission?"

"I suppose… Naruto would be dead by now…"

Naruto turned VERY pale at that. Die? He realized how close he was to dying just a few minutes ago because of his own stupidity. Yeah, he would have to smarten up…

"Sasuke, you next."

Sasuke, without flinching because of his Uchiha name, replied, "I was selfish in trying to get the bells for only me and Naruto. I should have given the bells to the two of them if I retrieved it, like a true teammate would, not just forget about Sakura because I don't like her."

Undaunted by Sasuke's perfect answer, Kakashi switched his questioning look over to the final member of team seven. "Naruto?"

Trying and failing miserably at admitting his faults with a pride-filled attitude, he whimpered, "I was a total idiot that couldn't put two and two together, and I was immature, as well as lacking confidence and feeling I was going to be the only one without a bell."

That last part was unexpected, to be sure. Naruto, the first to charge, lacked the confidence to do it? Maybe it was that first failure that had caused him to think he was worthless… Anyway… "And what's the same about all of these mistakes?"

"We all had an impulse to abandon at least one person?" Sakura guessed.

"True, but not what I'm looking for. Sasuke?"

"None of us got those stupid bells…" he growled, letting up on his "I'm an Uchiha, fear me," shield.

"That isn't the point."

Naruto added in his thoughts. "None of us showed proper teamwork. Like Sakura said, all we thought of was ourselves, and having possibly one other person as a second priority, but overall, we all thought of this as a singular effort, ignoring the fact that we were put into squads of three for the purpose of learning to work with others."

Sasuke just gaped at him, and Sakura was sure he was wrong.

"It seems the idiot of the group has just outsmarted you all," Kakashi sighed.

"NANI?" Sakura all but screeched.

"Listen up. You were put into groups of three to learn to work together. A ninja must se through deception. I was purposely pitting you against each other."

"B-but one of us would go back to the academy!" Sakura insisted. "That's hardly fair!"

Kakashi just looked at her simply, before cutting her and Sasuke loose with a pair of kunai, and immediately holding a kunai up to Sasuke's neck before either could do a thing. "Sakura, kill Naruto or Sasuke dies."

"What?" she gasped. Naruto immediately paled again. Sasuke was gonna die? Sasuke couldn't die! HE COULDN'T!

Kakashi sighed once more. "This is the choice you may face in later missions," he explained, letting Sasuke go and cutting Naruto loose.

The Jinchuuriki calmed down a tad bit, really, really, REALLY hating his sensei right now.

He passed them all, smiling a hidden smile. _I can tell that they'll eventually get along great… Poor Sakura, though. She's got to learn to accept Naruto before getting accepted herself. _Kakashi chuckled as he walked home.

* * *

"Naruto, tell Otou-san and Okaa-chan I'll be home soon, okay?"

"Sure, Sasuke, but why?"

"You'll see when I get home."

"Sure, whatever."

* * *

"Naruto-chan, where's Sasuke?" Mikoto asked, preparing dinner.

"I dunno, he wouldn't tell me. He said he'll be home soon, but…"

Poor Naruto desperately tried to hide the fact that he just wanted to cry. Not really out of sadness, but the fact that the trauma of seemingly losing his first real friend was finally over.

"Alright, then… I swear, he's getting to me just like Itachi. It's always, 'I'm busy, I'll be home soon.' "

"Umm… Where's-"

"He's trying to get Itachi home," Mikoto replied with a wave of her hand. "All the men in this family… I'm glad you're here, Naruto-chan, it gets really lonely from time to time."

"Nnn… Arrigato."

"I'm home!" Sasuke called. "Come on, Naruto, I gotta show you something!"

"Ne?"

They left to go to the bedroom, while Mikoto sighed. "I jinxed myself… Now even Naruto-chan has left…"

* * *

"Sasuke, what is it?"

"Here," Sasuke replied, holding out a stuffed animal; specifically, a fluffy bird with a zipper on the back. Sasuke unzipped it and slid in a few photographs he and Naruto had. "Here, you take that one… And I'll take this one." He held up a similar bird, golden in color, however. He unzipped it and added photographs as well, before zipping them both.

"Sasuke, it's so kawaii!" Naruto yipped happily. "Arrigato!"

"We're gonna take these with us wherever we go, alright?"

"Nani?"

"We're gonna protect these as if we were protecting each other. If one of us betrays the other in some form, we're gonna show them the bird to remind them of our vow."

"What if you don't care?" Naruto asked, curious and worried and the same time.

"It won't happen anyway, so don't worry about it," Sasuke laughed. "I just thought it'd be a fun thing to do." **3**

* * *

**1-Mirou was a horrible demon from the Naruto Shippuden movie. Go to animecrazy dot net to see the full movie with subtitles. Warning: You will have a MAJOR scare (at least if you love Naruto and all his kawaii-ness!). The beginning is truly terrifying. TERRIFYING! The only reason I kept watching it was because of these thoughts: "CALM DOWN, IT'S ONLY A FILLER! THEY CAN'T DO THAT! FILLERS ARE MADE SO THAT THEY DON'T AFFECT THE SERIES! IT WILL NOT HAPPEN! THEY FORGOT ABOUT MENMA, RIGHT? THIS WON'T CHANGE A THING! IT CAN'T! I REFUSE TO LET IT! WAI!" Yup, yours truly is a big baby when it comes to the actual series. Torturegood. DeathVERY BAD!**

**2-"Taskete" means "Help me."**

**3-I seriously got this idea from the third Naruto Shippuden opening. It may seem cheesy now, but it relates heavily to the plot later on.**


	10. Of Butterflies and Bunnies

**A/N YAY! SasuNaru won! Everybody celebrate! Anyway, it's time for something I long to do… BRING IN HAKU AND ZABUZA! BECAUSE THE ONLY REASON THEY WEREN'T HERE EARLIER IS BECAUSE I FORGOT! XP**

** Random question: Has anyone ever looked back at their first one or to fanfics and realized how truly lame and pathetic they are? 'cause I sure have…**

** Oh, and… THAT MOST RECENT MANGA ISSUE WAS SO –sniff- SAD! CURSE YOU FIRST HOKAGE! AND YOU TOO, SECOND HOKAGE! I WOULD KILL YOU IF YOU WEREN'T ALREADY DEAD!**

The group took a walk through the woods with the Tazuna as he explained more about the village's poverty to Kakashi. Naruto was chasing a butterfly, Sasuke was telling him off for being unmanly, and Sakura was watching and sweatdropping. The only reason they were out here was because Kakashi wanted to make sure there weren't any gaps in Tazuna's story, and Inari started crying every time he told it. They had heard about the figure Inari thought of as a father, and now Kakashi wanted to make sure it wasn't a set-up, like the typical Jonin he was.

"BUTTERFLY! IT'S SO BEAUTIFUL AND BLUE! ISN'T IT BEAUTIFUL, SASUKE?"

"NARUTO, STOP THAT!"

"You're both bakas sometimes…"

"BEAUTIFUL BUTTERFLIES! HEY, THIS ONE'S RED! AND A PRETTY YELLOW ONE! AND A BLACK ONE! SAKURA-CHAN, IT'S A PINK ONE! AND A WHITE ONE OVER HERE! YAY! MORE BUTTERFLIES!"

By now, everyone was just staring blankly as Naruto leapt after the butterflies.

Kakashi: _This is an insult to Konoha…_

Tazuna: _I thought these were ninja!_

Sakura: _The butterflies ARE really pretty…_

Sasuke: _It may be unmanly, but hey, what the heck? Those butterflies ARE very colorful and distracting… Maybe I can catch one and show it to Naruto! He'll be so impressed, he'll forget about what he was impressed about!_

Yes, everybody, by now Sasuke has figured out how to stop Naruto from doing something that embarrasses the entire village's reputation.

He walked over, found a dark red butterfly, and caught it between his hands. "Hey, Naruto, I caught one!"

Naruto ran over and stared at the bug that Sasuke showed him, careful not to harm the fragile wings. "Sasuke, you're amazing, you can do anything!"

Here's the new thought status.

Kakashi: _He really IS an idiot… Well, he DOES have potential, I suppose…_

Tazuna: _If anyone asks, hiring Konoha's ninja is a waste of money._

Sakura: _I want Sasuke to catch ME a butterfly, too!_

Sasuke: _Yes! It worked!_

Naruto: _Pretty red butterfly… Sasuke caught it? Nii-san is amazing…_

Nothing doing. As soon as he was done admiring the butterfly, Naruto saw distraction number two; a white rabbit. "SASUKE, IT'S A WHITE RABBIT! RABBITS ARE AWESOME!"

While Naruto chased the rabbit around, everyone sweatdropped. Or at least, everyone but Kakashi.

"A white rabbit in this season, ne?"

"What are you talking about, Kakashi-sensei?" Sasuke asked, turning around.

Sakura immediately understood. "That rabbit should have its summer fur coat on… That one is still white for winter…"

"That rabbit," Kakashi explained, "was raised indoors. It's for a replacement technique. Sasuke, help Naruto catch it."

"H-hai!"

Sasuke sped into the woods to follow Naruto, but it was too late…

(Warning: The next paragraph or two are descriptions those with weak stomachs may not wish to read.)

Naruto lay on the ground, throat literally torn out of his neck. His chest was cut wide open, and if you looked past his rib cage, you could see the organs, slowing down to a halt, as if this was done only seconds ago. Blood was dripping from his mouth, and his eyes were hazy, still moving and still painfully alive. Slowly, the movement stopped, and Sasuke immediately wanted to throw up at the scene. He slowly and shakily walked forward, eyes wide. "Naruto… Whatever you do, don't fall asleep…"

If the blood-soaked Jinchuuriki had heard, he was unable to answer. He tried to breathe in, looking terrified, but he was practically headless, his neck only being a flap of skin and muscle because of his lost throat. His eyes slowly became the color of mist as he died.

(Gory description over. Sorry to those of you who threw up reading it. XP To those who skipped it, Sasuke just saw Naruto's corpse.)

"Na-naruto…" Sasuke murmured, unbelieving. No, this wasn't happening… Nobody could deal wounds like that so fast… "Wake up… Naruto…" It wasn't a heart attack, it was a fatal injury… It was impossible to recover from… "Naruto, if you don't wake up, I'll… I'll set Ichiraku's on fire… Naruto… Wake up…"

In the distance, he heard the word, "Kai!"

The Uchiha slowly got up. "What happened?" he asked groggily. Then he remembered. "Naruto! Where's Naruto? Someone has to do something, CPR, we need a medical ninja, it's awful, my fault, I wasn't fast enough, WHERE IS HE?"

"Right here, Sasuke!"

Sasuke turned around and saw a very confused-looking blonde.

"So THAT was the type of Genjutsu you were in…" Kakashi sighed. "Don't worry, it's fine, Naruto isn't dead."

Sasuke hugged the Kyuubi vessel, not caring how un-Uchiha it was. "Don't you EVER scare me like that again, you hear? From now on, I'm not letting you out of my sight!"

"I don't get it, but okay…" Naruto responded, still wondering what the heck had happened.

It only took a moment for them to realize someone was laughing. Looking up, they saw a man sitting in a tree, and if you haven't realized who it is by now, you REALLY haven't watched enough of the show. Go back and more episodes before reading this if you don't get it, or at least re-read the author's notes.

The man just stared at Sasuke in a mocking way. "You care about that idiot? What ninja wears a flashy orange outfit?"

Naruto had anime tears. _I should have listened to Sasuke when he told me to keep that red outfit… But I hate red…_

"Who are you?" Sasuke demanded.

Kakashi held up a hand to signal for Sasuke to be quiet. "Yari, yari… It appears that we not only have some plain mist rogues after you, Tazuna, but an S-ranked criminal, as well… I have every right to take my team back home."

"Iie!" Naruto sniffed. "I wanna help Inari!"

"Stop crying, baka!" Sakura hissed at him. "You're a disgrace to all of Konoha!"

Naruto only cried more at this, sobbing into Sasuke's shirt. Sasuke glared at Sakura. "Gee, Sakura, thanks for the help," he said sarcastically.

"So… You're Zabuza," Kakashi said matter-of-factly.

"If you softies are done," Zabuza chuckled, "then its time for you to meet your deaths."

Tazuna sighed. "This is the end, I know it already…"

"WAI! Sasuke, I'm sorry I'm so pathetic, I'm sorry I disgraced your clan, and I am sorry I'm so weak!"

Oh, how Sasuke wanted to scream at him, tell him he wasn't weak, just not very confident… Ah, well. That would have to wait until later.

The group made for the clearing, Zabuza hot on their trail. By the time they got there, everything was shrouded in mist.

Kakashi looked around, knowing Zabuza must be there somewhere…

"You'll not find me like that, Kakashi, the copy-ninja…" a voice chuckled, but none of them could tell where it was coming from.

Kakashi reached for his forehead protector and lifted it up out of his other eye, cueing a gasp from the genin of team seven.

"Ne, Sasuke, why does sensei have Sharingan?" Naruto asked quietly.

"I don't know…"

"Isn't Sharingan exclusive to the Uchiha clan?" Sakura inquired.

"You two act like I have all the answers!" Sasuke hissed. There was a queasy feeling building up inside him that h wasn't sure Sakura and Naruto could detect. Two Jonin involved in a serious fight for life and death… The killer intents… It made every inch of him feel insecure. Naruto was too… Well, easily distracted to sense it. Sakura had good chakra control and wasn't as worried…

The Uchiha shivered as the wait continued, Naruto hugging his arm while Sakura stood in front of Tazuna. Using his free hand, Sasuke pulled out a kunai. _I can't take this any longer… I'd rather…_

"Sasuke-nii, you promised you wouldn't leave me alone," Naruto said simply, eyeing the kunai. It was weird how he was calm at that time, Sasuke noted. "You wouldn't leave me alone again, would you? I don't want to be alone. Don't leave me." He took one last look at the kunai. "But if you really want to… I'm not stopping you." At this, the blonde pulled out a kunai to match Sasuke's. "I'll die with you, if that's what it takes."

Sasuke just stared at him. The dobe looked like he was in a trance, halfway between sanity and insanity, yet strangely calm and collective at the same time.

And that last sentence was more terrifying than the killer intent going around like a pandemic.

Sakura couldn't hear, since it was all said quietly, but to Sasuke it was like he was being shouted at… Being scolded for nearly leaving his closest friend alone. "Gomen nasai, Naruto," Sasuke sighed, putting the kunai away. "The aura of the place was getting to me. Sorry for scaring you like that."

Naruto smiled slightly. "Arrigato."

The battle began.

**A/N Cliffhangers! Fun to use, but awful to read!**

**YB: GAH! NOOOOOOO! I THOUGHT YOU STOPPED USING THAT AFTER THE FIRST FEW CHAPTERS OF "TRUMP CARD OF KONOHA!" DON'T USE IT AGAIN!**

**SCC: Sorry, I felt the urge to do that. XD Anyway… Back to mourning and cursing the first and second Hokages! WAIWAIWAIWAIWAI! POOR MADARA-CHAN! POOR ITACHI-CHAN! POOR SASUKE-CHAN! POOR LAST TWO UCHIHAS! One is the first Uchiha leader, and one is the last Uchiha of all time… Unless he decides to breed… XD Wait, no! That means he'd have to marry a girl! SASUKE CAN ONLY MARRY NARUTO! T-T**

**YB: Yuri is better than yaoi…**

**SCC: Why did I get a boy to be my assistant? -sigh- Well, not that I hate yuri… If I did I'd be homophobic. Which I am not. I just like yaoi better. - Hey, Ri hasn't thought of MadaSasu yet! Wait 'till I tell her THAT one!**

**YB: I still say that she has you beat. She said MIZUJIRA. MIZUKI as JIRAIYA'S SEME.**

**SCC: …A lesson to all readers! Start the "think of the best crack pairing" contest with your friends! It's fun even WITHOUT yaoi or yuri!**

**YB: JiraSaku… Heheheh…**

**Sakura: WHAT?**

**Jiraiya: WHAT? She's to fla-**

**Sakura: -death glare-**

**Jiraiya: I mean, young! DON'T KILL ME! -runs away-**

**Sakura: That's what I thought you said! -mumbles angrily about, "fanfiction these days"-**


End file.
